Ohene Kwame Frimpong: Why Asante Akyem North Seat Cannot be Declared Vacant
- Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga cautioned Parliament against vacating the Asante Akyem North seat over MP Kwame Ohene Frimpong's absence
- Frimpong was arrested in Amsterdam on May 8, 2025 on allegations of money laundering and romance fraud and has missed consecutive sittings
- Ayariga argued that declaring the seat vacant would set a dangerous precedent that could be exploited through trumped-up charges
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has moved to defend Asante Akyem North MP Kwame Ohene Frimpong, urging Parliament to hold off on declaring his seat vacant despite his prolonged absence from the chamber following his arrest in the Netherlands.
Frimpong was detained in Amsterdam on 8 May over allegations of money laundering and romance fraud.
Source: Instagram
His continued absence has drawn attention to Article 97(1)(c) of Ghana's Constitution, which stipulates that a Member of Parliament must vacate their seat after missing 15 consecutive sittings without the permission of the Speaker.
Ayariga's case against declaring Frimpong's seat vacant
Addressing the matter, Mahama Ayariga argued that the circumstances surrounding Frimpong's absence placed it in a category that parliamentary convention has historically treated differently.
In a report sighted on GhanaWeb, he maintained that an MP who is held against their will abroad cannot reasonably be expected to attend sittings, regardless of their intent to do so.
"The person is absent because he has been apprehended elsewhere and is being detained against his will. Even if he wanted to come to Parliament, he would not be able to," Ayariga said.
The Majority Leader further contended that the House has long operated on the principle of waiting for legal proceedings to conclude before taking action against members whose absences arise from circumstances outside their control.
"The practice of the House has always been that if a person is absent due to circumstances beyond their control, we wait," he added.
Ayariga warns of dangerous precedent
Beyond the immediate case, Ayariga raised a broader concern about what a decision to vacate the seat could mean for parliamentary democracy in Ghana going forward.
He warned that applying the constitutional provision rigidly in situations involving detention could open the door to political abuse.
"If we allow that precedent, what will happen is that an MP could be arrested on the basis of trumped-up charges, and then after 15 days, we will say his seat is vacant," he cautioned.
His remarks reflect a tension between the letter of the constitutional provision and the practical realities of a sitting legislator facing legal proceedings in a foreign jurisdiction, a situation that the framers of Article 97(1)(c) may not have explicitly anticipated.
Parliament of Ghana is yet to make a formal determination on the status of the Asante Akyem North seat as Frimpong's legal process in the Netherlands continues.
Kwame Frimpong speaks on his arrest
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Ohene Kwame Frimpong had spoken for the first time after he was arrested and detained in the Netherlands.
The MP for Asante Akyem North spoke to Ghanaian media personality, Blakk Rasta and denied some allegations levelled against him.
Ghanaians on social media who listened to the audio thronged the comment section to share their varied thoughts on the matter.
Source: YEN.com.gh
